In our guide to the best Tinder alternatives, we noted a couple of frustrating things about the popular dating app, our main gripe being that constantly swiping right gets a bit boring, especially if you're not getting any matches.

While there's plenty of third-party software out there that will indiscriminately like people for you (usually in exchange for a few bob), developer Justin Long has devised a more intelligent solution that ticks profiles based on machine-learned preferences.

Called Tinderbox, the project is built around the Tinder app API and uses the Eigenfaces facial recognition algorithm to determine who you're attracted to. You'll need to yay or nay about 60 profiles for it to get an idea of what sort of person you like, after which it should be ready to go on auto-pilot.

Tinderbox, which recreates the app in a desktop environment, is even able to start conversations for you, featuring natural language processing tech developed by Stanford. Whether or not your would-be partner approves of being chatted up by a robot remains to be seen, though.

You'll need a basic understanding of programming to get Tinderbox working of your computer, and it's not a commercial project, so expect a few hiccups, but it's easily one of the cleverer tools we've seen in a while.